The arts constitute fields of inquiry and production that are distinct from other forms of thought and expression. Accumulated over millennia, our global artistic heritage is a resource for cultural renewal as well as historical understanding. Through performances, objects, and images, artists have long provoked insight and pleasure, and enriched and reflected on human experience. In contemporary society, they stimulate innovation, reinvent media, articulate cultural critique, and work with communities to effect change.

Mission and Goals

The Arts and Cultural Heritage program seeks to nurture exceptional creative accomplishment, scholarship, and conservation practices in the arts, while promoting a diverse and sustainable ecosystem for these disciplines. The program supports the work of outstanding artists, curators, conservators, and scholars, and endeavors to strengthen performing arts organizations, art museums, research institutes, and conservation centers. Alongside our continued commitments to exemplary programs in the performing arts, art history, and conservation, new areas and strengthened emphases include:

Programs that strengthen the creation and preservation of, as well as scholarship about, new media and multidisciplinary arts

Initiatives that broaden public access to and understanding of the arts

Research, training, and recruitment programs that enhance diversity and inclusion in arts organizations

Collaborations between institutions of higher education and the arts

Efforts to address vulnerabilities distinctive to the arts, such as the financial health of small arts organizations and emergency preparedness and response